Torches
by UltimatexAdmin
Summary: Fairy Tail's at war with a dark guild again. After an alarmingly brutal attack on their camp leaves Freed badly wounded, he finds himself trapped in the snow with nothing but a box of matches and memories of his husband Laxus to keep him warm. PAIRINGS: Fraxus. RATED T FOR: angst, graphic descriptions of injuries and warfare violence, some mild language.


_"...And if you get lost in the shadows, there's a fire inside you, and you know that I'll find you. Come on, carry your flame! Carry it higher! Even in the darkness, carry your torches..."_

\- X Ambassadors, "Torches"

**-**

I stumbled back against the stone wall, clutching the bleeding, gaping wound to my stomach. The cold rock bit into my skin as if made of ice, and I swore as pain flared up in my numerous injuries. The furious clashes, screams and roars of battle carried on outside the safety of the fortress ruins, which were all but completely frozen over, the ground coated in at least eight inches of snow.

Fairy Tail was at war with a dark guild again, and the Thunder Legion- _my_ team- had been caught up in it, as usual. I mentally chastised myself for allowing Evergreen and Bickslow to get swept up in the battle ongoing outside the ruins. We had been seperated when our enemy attacked out of the blue, tearing apart our hastily constructed camp in seconds and sparking yet another furious battle that only ended in more and more bloodshed, more bodies of friends lying dead on the ground, more pain and sorrow. I hated warfare, because there were no winners. Nobody ever accomplished anything by fighting, by killing each other.

As I was saying, the surprise attack knocked all of us off our feet and left us scrambling to defend ourselves. Natsu and I had fought side by side for a minute or two, but even he ended up seperated as the dark guild members managed to single all of us out in some way, forcing us to fight surrounded and alone. It was a very well-coordinated assault, seeing as the sun was setting and we had thought the battles were over for the day. They had the element of surprise on their side because nobody saw it coming.

And it was brutal. I had to watch, shocked and horrified, as Cana went down screaming, an arrow protruding from her shoulder. I saw Gray take a remarkably rough hit from a foe's spear, right in the gut. He managed to keep fighting, but I knew it had to hurt. So many of us had been injured, and now I was one of them.

It happened abruptly, too quick for me to stop. I was setting up a rather powerful enchantment to protect my husband Laxus, and although my enchantments are perhaps the most powerful, dangerous magic there is, they take a few moments to create because I actually have to write out the runes needed. One of the dark guild members was sneaking up behind me, I was too absorbed in protecting my beloved that I didn't notice until he had grabbed me, clamped a hand over my mouth so I couldn't scream, and stabbed me in the stomach with a long, curved dagger, plunging it in all the way to the hilt.

And the explosion of pain that followed was excruciating, only magnified when he yanked the knife out of me. I managed to write a quick pain spell that took him to the ground, but I was bleeding so heavily that I knew I couldn't continue fighting.

And now here I was, mortally wounded, bleeding out. I had lost sight of my husband and I was all alone, so I had no choice but to hide and wait for someone to find me. I was too injured to continue fighting. So I hobbled over to the old fortress ruins we had been using for cover and hid amongst them. My usually neat, tidy jade-green hair was a mess, falling into my face, trying to blind me. In some places, the waist-length locks were stained with crimson blood. But I didn't care right then, I could fix it later.

It was so goddamn cold I swear my blood was freezing inside my body. Everything hurt so badly, the pain so bright and white-hot that I couldn't breathe properly.

I slumped to my knees, back pressed against the frozen stone wall, gasping and wheezing, coughing up dark globules of blood that formed bright red starbursts in the snow around me. Oh Christ, I was hurting. I tipped my head back against the wall behind me, trying to drag in a deep breath but finding I couldn't. It hurt too much. My chest was shaking with the effort.

"L-Laxus..." I mumbled, almost choking as I felt blood shoot up my throat and start trickling from the corner of my mouth. I tried to focus on an image of my husband's gentle, smiling face. His perfect blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes, sharply defined facial features and lightly tanned skin. The beautiful dark scar over his eye shaped like a lightning bolt I had traced my fingers over and kissed so many times. I managed a weak smile at the very thought of him. "...Laxus..."

_That's it, Freed..._ I could almost hear him saying. _Deep breaths, if you can take them. Focus on me. Don't think about anything else, and it won't hurt anymore. I promise._

I wanted to cry. Tears of pain stung my eyes, I refused to let them fall and furiously blinked them away. It was cold, too cold, and I knew I was gonna die if I stayed like this for much longer. Suddenly an idea hit me. I always carried a box of matches with me, it made lighting campfires on overnight missions so much easier. I didn't smoke, nor did anyone else on my team, but hey. You never know when you might need to light a fire, and a box of matches just might do that for you.

I knew right away that I wasn't thinking clearly, my mind was fogged over and distorted by the pain and blood loss. But I couldn't help myself, and started rummaging around in the pockets of my scarlet red coat for the little matchbox. It was a desperate idea, but a smart one nonetheless. I would use the matches and the sparse energy they provided to keep as warm as possible.

There was absolutely nothing around that I could see to light a fire with, all the sticks and things were buried in the snow. Even if there were, because there was still a battle going on, I didn't want the smoke to draw attention to my location. The matches would have to be enough, although I knew they weren't even close to that.

After a moment of digging through the deep pockets sewn into my coat, I managed to locate the box of matches, and pulled it out with shaking hands. I was so weak and discombobulated I barely managed to get a match out and light it.

The little flame flickered and danced, producing a little heat, and I watched, mesmerised, as it burned down the little wooden stick, closer to my fingers, which were basking in the meager warmth it provided.

For a split second, I thought I saw something familiar. A shape in the flame that I recognized. It looked like a little lightning bolt that twisted upward for a moment before collapsing back into the fire and vanishing. It reminded me of Laxus's scar. The one he was often so insecure about because it was over his eye, blatantly obvious on his face. A weak smile crossed my face as a memory rose to the front of my mind. The time Laxus had asked me to use an invisibility rune on his scar and hide it from view for the day.

-

_"...And why would I want to hide your scar?" I asked, giving Laxus a confused look._

_"Because I hate it and I don't really feel like putting up with the weird stares I get from people who can't mind their own damn business today." Laxus replied, sighing softly. "I hate this stupid scar anyway..."_

_"Aww, don't be like that." I turned to face him and gently cupped his face between my hands, admiring how soft and smooth his skin was. "You're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. Your scar just adds to my attraction for you." I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the jagged scar, near the bottom, just beneath his eye. _

_"Oh, Freed. You're too kind, honestly." Laxus reached up and pried my hands off his face, cupping them between his and gazing at me with a look of absolute adoration that melted my heart._

_"But I'm telling the truth, I'm not just being nice. You look amazing, scar and all." I untangled myself from his grasp so I could smooth my thumb over the scar, smiling warmly. "I love you. All of you." _

_"I love you too, Freed. Always and forever." _

-

Perhaps I really was dying, I realized, as I jolted out of the memory and came crashing back into my harsh reality. I was surrounded by snow, the match had burned down until absolutely nothing except a blackened stick was left behind, and everything still hurt so badly I still couldn't take deep breaths.

I winced as another bolt of agony ripped through my body, starting at the gaping wound to my stomach, which produced more and more blood every second.

_What just happened? I was watching the match burn down, and... And I got thoroughly distracted by memories just because a fleeting shape in the flame looked like Laxus's scar. _

My eyes widened slightly. That wasn't a bad idea. I could distract myself from the excruciating pain by searching for things that sparked memories in the light of the matches. In fact, distraction is the best way to cure pain without actually curing it.

So I rushed and my fingers fumbled as I tried to light another match. Once the little inferno flickered into existence, I immediately focused all my attention on the wavering orange tongue of flame, searching for something, anything to distract me from what was going on. I was only looking for a second.

I swear I saw the shape of a flower in the center of the fire. I allowed the familiar image to trigger another rush of memories.

-

_"Sit still." Laxus scolded, laughing, as he finger-combed my long hair and began braiding it with a gusto, if that's the right way to use that word..._

_I was sitting between his legs, facing away from him, fidgeting anxiously as I let him have his way with my hair like he had asked permission to do. I had reluctantly agreed, and now I was regretting my decision as I realized he may not really know what to do with hair. He was a guy, and a guy who always kept his hair short at that. _

_"S-Sorry..." I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, exhaling slowly. "I just don't usually let people mess with my hair, that's all." _

_"Well, I'm your boyfriend so I'm allowed to touch your hair whenever I want." Laxus told me, lightly tugging on a lock of my hair for emphasis. His voice softened as he added, "It's so soft and pretty... You should let me do this more often."_

_"We'll see how it turns out." I replied, hesitantly. "No promises."_

_He chuckled and continued to do whatever it was he was doing. Occasionally I'd feel light tugs on my scalp, not hard enough to hurt, but it was present. And it really made me wonder what he was doing, but I kept quiet. We were sitting outside in an open meadow, surrounded by tall emerald grass and little white flowers that were so cute and pretty I couldn't help but run my fingers over their petals every so often. The sky was blue, and a pleasantly cool breeze was blowing, keeping the afternoon sun from beating us into the ground. _

_"Are you done yet?" I couldn't help but ask, as I felt Laxus's warm, gentle fingers brushing across the back of my neck in repetitive patterns. _

_"Not quite, but it looks so good already." he told me, grinning from ear to ear. "You really should let me do this more often, Freed. It looks so cute on you." _

_"Once again, we shall see." I shook my head slightly. _

_A few minutes later, he tapped me on the shoulder and flipped my hair over the other shoulder so I could see what he'd done. "I'm finished." he said._

_I glanced down at it. My hair was tied into a tightly plaited braid, perfectly done, not a single emerald strand coming loose. Woven throughout the braid like little gemstones were flowers. The little white ones surrounding me right now. Laxus had been picking them and adding them to the braid as he went. What a clever guy, I thought to myself._

_"Thank you, Laxus. It's beautiful." I turned and embraced him, burying my face in his warm chest. "I love it. And yes, you may do it more often from here on out. As often as you'd like." _

_"Thank you, baby. You look so unbelievably sexy with your hair braided, just being brutally honest there..." Laxus trailed off as he lifted my chin and kissed me. Our lips met, and I melted into his embrace, closing my eyes and letting him have his way with the kiss. He was so sweet and gentle. I knew he'd never hurt me._

-

And just like that, I was plunged back into the cold. The match was burnt out again. I realized I was rasping, unable to pull air into my lungs. I felt like screaming, that's how badly it hurt. But I had to stay strong and keep distracting myself.

_Just a little longer... Laxus is gonna come for me any minute now... And everything's gonna be okay..._ It was so cold my teeth were chattering uncontrollably and my hands were so numb that even if you stabbed them with a hot knife I wouldn't feel it. I was trembling so hard I could barely move. It was awful. _Laxus will find me. He's just wrapped up in the battle right now but it won't take him long to realize I'm missing. Then he's gonna come running, following my scent all the way here. And he's gonna carry me home. _

I realized I was beginning to fall unconscious. There was blood everywhere now. There was a chance I'd die before my husband could get to me, especially if he was preoccupied with a war.

I mentally kicked myself for thinking that way and instead struck another match. The memories were keeping me awake. I needed to stay awake. Unconscious, my body would lose internal temperature much faster than usual, so I'd freeze to death and just die quietly in my sleep. But I couldn't do that. Because Laxus would find my body, and he'd never forgive himself. I couldn't do that to him. Not that, never that. I couldn't hurt Laxus in such a way. So I had to stay awake. For him. He needed me. I needed him.

By now I was almost too weak to lift my hand, so lighting another match was extremely difficult. It took me an eternity to get the little flame going. Once I did, I was frantically searching for familiar shapes once again. I had to get back into the deepest reserves of my memory or else I didn't have much time left.

Flickering red light reflected off my face. It was beautiful, the fire was. I wanted so badly to be able to hold it and feel the warmth firsthand, but I couldn't without burning myself.

Suddenly I recognized a small, fleeting shape in the fire again. It was a tear. Reminded me of the first time Laxus saw me crying...

-

_"Freed? Freed, are you okay?" Laxus's head poked around the doorframe and I quickly turned away, trying to hide the fact I had been sobbing for the past half hour. But I was a split second too late. He had seen the tears staining my face. "Oh jeez. Are you okay, sweetheart?" Laxus came in and knelt down in front of me, gently lifting my chin so I was looking at him. "What's wrong, baby?"_

_I sniffled and frantically wiped my eyes, concealing my face with my hands. "N-Nothing, I'm fine..." I stammered out, completely embarrassed that he had seen me in tears._

_"No you aren't." he replied evenly, getting up on the bed with me and slipping his arms around me from behind, crossing them over my chest and nudging me until my back was pressed against his warm chest. "Tell me what's going on. I'm here for you, and you can talk to me when something's bothering you." _

_I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding, a soft sigh escaping my lips. "Oh, alright... Well... I was just thinking about my parents and what... They did to me before I ran away..." I glanced down at my hands, the ones that had been crushed, sliced open and violently struck so many times when I was only five years old. _

_My parents had thought I was evil simply because I had discovered my gift to read, write and cast spells revolving around runes at such a young age. They were so religious that they thought magic was evil. They thought I had been possessed by a demon. And the first thing they did when they realized the gift I had been born with was to get drunk and break my hands. Both of them. They had convinced themselves that, if I couldn't use my hands ever again, I wouldn't be "evil" anymore._

_Laxus nodded his understanding and brushed my hair out of the way, leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to the side of my neck, just behind my ear. The touch was so soft and sweet I wanted to start crying again. _

_"Freed... It's okay to be human sometimes. Which means it's okay to cry, to show some emotion." he told me, pulling me closer and peppering the side of my neck with kisses, lips trailing down to the crook of my neck, then back up to my ear. "Especially in front of me. You know you're safe with me. I will never look down on you or judge you if you cry in front of me. You're human, and I understand. It's alright to cry."_

_"I'm sorry." I immediately apologized, feeling as though I had done something wrong. "I just... I'm not the best at... Revealing my emotions to other people..."_

_"Shhh. I understand. And it's okay." Laxus located the sensitive spot just above the crook of my neck and licked at it tentatively, tongue moving in gentle, intimate upward motions, brushing across my skin. I shivered at the contact and pressed back against him, tilting my head to one side so he could reach me better._

_"That feels good..." I mumbled, blushing shyly like I always did when he got especially intimate with me._

_He didn't respond, but I could feel his teeth against my skin as he smiled and began nibbling softly on my neck, eliciting a soft noise from my throat that was almost a whimper but not quite. He always knew how to make me feel better. And I appreciated that. _

_"Oh, Freed... You're such a sweet, shy, quiet little thing... I still don't understand why they'd ever want to hurt you..." Laxus whispered into my neck, and I understood immediately that he was talking about my parents._

_"W-Well, they thought they knew r-right from wrong and I d-didn't quite m-meet those standards so..." I couldn't get any further, I broke down and started crying all over again. I pressed one hand over my eyes, sobbing softly, my other hand drifting down to grasp Laxus's arm with a death grip, making sure he was still there. _

_Of course he was, he'd never leave me alone while I was like this. His grip on me tightened and he gently tilted my face toward him so he could kiss my tears away. _

_"Don't cry, cupcake, please don't cry..." he murmured. "I love you, Freed, I'm so sorry you had to go through that..." I had never heard him say my name like that before, and it was too much._

_I twisted in his grasp so I could throw my arms around his neck, crying into his shirt. He slipped his strong arms around me once again, stroking my hair and holding me as close as possible. I stayed there long after the tears had stopped falling. I just wanted to be with him, so close, touching in so many places that my skin glowed with warmth. He seemed to understand, and didn't make any move to get up until I was ready to let go. _

_This was why I loved Laxus so much, more than I had ever loved anyone in my entire life. He was sweet and gentle, but solid and dependable as a rock. And he would always be there for me._

-

This time, it was the pain that snapped me out of the beautiful memory. It was so intense that my vision flashed red and I doubled over, a hoarse scream torn from my bloodstained lips, clutching my injured stomach. Oh, I had never felt anything like it. It hurt so fucking bad that everything else in the world ceased to exist, there was nothing but me and the pain. I suddenly found myself wishing I could just die, if only it meant this horrible stinging, burning agony tearing me apart from the inside out would stop.

_Make it stop, make it stop..._

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, the horrible, excruciating pain receded to a painful throbbing, which was bearable. I opened my eyes, which were bleary with tears, and wouldn't focus properly. It was so cold, and I was so weak from all the trembling. The battle sounds seemed to be calming down, much to my relief. Laxus would be coming soon.

Soon, I told myself. Soon.

"La...xus..." I was so absolutely exhausted, so drained by the pain, that I could barely even whisper his name anymore. All I knew was everything hurt and I was scared and I wanted Laxus.

Oh, how much I longed for the feeling of his big strong arms around me, the warmth and safety he provided. I missed the sound of his voice, so soft and soothing. He'd tell me that he was here with me, I wasn't alone, and that I'd be okay.

Upon glancing down I discovered there was only one match left in the box. My hands shaking so unbelievably hard I couldn't believe they were still working, I drew the match and struck it with as much force as I could muster (which wasn't a lot). Much to my shock, I actually managed to light it on the first try.

This time, I didn't even have to look for familiarity in the little red fire. The memories came to me all on their own. And this time, they were the most beautiful I had. The day Laxus and I had held hands for the first time, when we were fourteen (me) and seventeen (him). We were so young, yet we already knew we were meant for each other.

-

_The sun was setting in the West. I was sitting on a bench on the white sands of the beach, watching the rippling colors of pink and purple and fiery orange battle in the sky around the flaming yellow ball of the sun, which was just now dipping beneath the beautiful cerulean and turquoise-colored waves crashing on the beach before me. It was gorgeous. So perfect. _

_Laxus, my best friend, was sitting next to me, gazing out into the West like I was. But I was watching him out of the corner of my eye, and I could sense he was doing the same to me. An open book sat in my lap, I had been reading it earlier before he showed up. We had chattered about this and that, mostly stupid stuff, before falling silent to watch the absolutely majestic sunset before us. _

_I'd never admit it, but I had begun to realize I didn't express a romantic attraction for all the pretty girls back at home like the other boys my age did. But I did for guys. Or, to be precise, one specific guy. And he was sitting next to me. _

_The scarlet red coat I was wearing was way too big for me. Laxus had given it to me for my fourteenth birthday, which was just a couple weeks ago. And I had worn it every day since. He had intentionally gotten it in an adult size, just so he could tease me about eventually growing into it. I was always super small, Mirajane said it was just because I hadn't had my "growth spurt" yet. _

_Laxus and I both glanced at each other at the same time, and I immediately looked away, trying to conceal the delicate pink blush creeping into my face. I was always so shy and reclusive, he was my only friend and I didn't know how to tell him I loved him. _

_"What's the matter, nerd?" Laxus asked, laughing softly._

_"N-Nothing!" I squeaked out. _

_He shook his head, clicking his tongue as if disappointed. It was at that moment I realized his hand was awkwardly close to mine, his little finger nearly touching mine. It instantly caused my blush to get even worse. Was he just messing with me?_

_Silence fell over us once again. Neither of us seemed to know what to say, we were awkward teenagers, so talking about feelings didn't really come easily to us. But Laxus seemed to know how to show me what he was feeling, because suddenly I felt the warm pressure of his hand on mine. He hesitated, before turning my hand palm-up so he could lace our fingers together. Just like that, we were holding hands._

_And I could not believe it. _

_He wouldn't do this unless he liked me in a much more than friendly way. In that silly romantic way I always read about in books but never truly understood until just now. I had seen him treating girls this way, he only held their hand or did anything that involved physical contact with them if he liked them in that way. But now he was doing it to me. And I didn't understand at all. My tiny, undeveloped teenaged mind could not comprehend what was going on._

_All I knew was we were holding hands and watching the sun sink down into the ocean. _

_It was the best thing I had ever felt in my life. _

-

I was jolted out of the memory by the distant sound of running footsteps and a familiar voice shouting, "Freed! Where are you? Freed!"

I was just barely clinging on to consciousness, my mind was cloudy and fuzzy and I couldn't think. All I knew was the voice was painfully familiar. I had heard it so many times, gently whispering my name, laughing with me when we made fun of Natsu together, talking to me about this and that, sharing everything he ever thought or felt with me.

_Laxus._

I could just barely keep my eyes open. I saw a blurry form running to me at top speed. Heard the same voice practically screaming, "Oh my god, Freed! Jesus fucking Christ, who did this to you?"

Laxus skidded on his knees beside me and threw his arms around me, pulling me into his familiar warmth. I let out a weak wail of pain, still clutching my stomach as rivulets of blood ran down my hand to blossom in the snow.

"Shit. You're hurt really badly. Freed? Can you hear me?" Laxus asked, gently stroking my hair out of my face.

I couldn't respond. Hell, I could barely comprehend what he was saying to me. I was going unconscious, and this time I couldn't stop it. Everything hurt too much, and now that I had been found, it was safe to just let go and fall into that warm darkness so much deeper than sleep that promised an escape from the biting cold, from the pain.

"He's unresponsive and bleeding really badly." Laxus said, his voice coming to me in distorted waves as if we were underwater. I realized he was talking to someone else.

I managed to stay conscious for just long enough to see him take off his heavy black coat with the gray fur trim and drape it around my violently trembling shoulders, wrapping me with it in an attempt to warm me up a little. It worked, his coat was so warm. So very warm. I couldn't fight it any longer and let the darkness of unconsciousness take me.

-

When I came around, the first thing I noticed was that I wasn't cold anymore. It was so warm and wonderful that I immediately wished I could go back to sleep and forget I ever woke. The next thing I noticed was that someone was stroking my hair, running their fingers through it, fingertips drawing slow patterns on my scalp.

"Looks like he's waking up." a soft voice remarked. Laxus. I immediately recognized his voice. It was shockingly close to my ear, and startled me.

"That's good. The healers will have to work on him again soon, once their magic energy replenishes." another familiar voice- probably Mirajane's- said in response.

I made up my mind right then and there that I was going to open my eyes. So, with a great deal of effort, I did. The world came into focus. I was in the Fairy Tail infirmary, I could tell based off the white walls and sterile-looking area. I was lying in a really comfortable bed, with my head in Laxus's lap. He was the one combing his fingers through my hair, and I was okay with that. Mirajane was standing in front of the bed, blue eyes sparkling as she watched me wake up.

"Hey, sweetie." the silver-white-haired girl said, smiling warmly. "Laxus? He's fully awake now."

"Freed?" Laxus tilted his head to peer at me, I offered him a weak smile. It was still really hard to do most things, like moving around. I was so weak and my magic energy was completely gone, drained right out of me. The blonde's whole face lit up when his eyes met mine. "Oh thank god, it's so good to see you awake. How are you feeling, cupcake?" he reached down and put his hand over mine.

His hand was so big compared to mine, I thought to myself. "I-It... Hurts but... Not as bad..." I managed to choke out, voice barely above a whisper.

The pain from the last time I had been conscious was present but it had dulled significantly so it was no longer this sharp, horrible, excruciating agony tearing me apart from the inside out. I could handle it.

Laxus nodded, considering my words as he stroked the back of my hand with gentle fingers. "Hmm. That's good. Man, I was so worried about you. I was fighting alongside Gajeel at one point, and I realized that I had no idea where you were. I told him, and we both panicked. Your scent had become distorted in the air seeing as there was a battle going on, which made it impossible for either of us to tell if you were even still in the area. I was so scared, I had a feeling you were lying hurt somewhere, otherwise you would've been at my side like you always are." he explained, and for a moment his beautiful blue eyes sparkled with tears, but he quickly wiped them away.

I was listening intently. So that was how they found me. I always knew Laxus would. But he had help, so it went a lot faster. "The battle..." I mumbled, shifting in Laxus's lap. "D-Did we win?"

"Yeah. We did. But I wasn't there to see it happen, I was with you. Keeping you safe." Laxus leaned down to nuzzle his face into my hair, taking in my familiar scent. He considered me his mate, not his husband, seeing as he was a dragon slayer with strong instincts. As such, he could be very protective and possessive, but super affectionate at the same time. It was adorable.

"Good... But... Did the Thunder Legion make it..?" I asked, sighing as he ran his thumb back behind my ear.

"Bix and Ever are alive and accounted for. They have a couple bumps and bruises, and Bix broke his wrist, but other than that they're both okay." he reassured, smiling gently at the concern in my voice. "You're such a good captain, they're lucky to have you."

I groaned softly, closing my eyes and relaxing into his warm embrace. "And yet I'm somehow the only one who got injured."

"Hey. Don't talk like that. You're absolutely brilliant, love. Stop second-guessing yourself, you're such a badass it makes Natsu jealous." Laxus flicked my forehead before continuing to run his fingers through my hair, gently working out the tangles. "Ugh. Your hair's a bit of a mess. Where's your hairbrush, I'll take care of it." he slid out from under me, kissing my cheek as he stood up, laying me down on my side.

"It's... Um..." I hesitated as I tried to remember exactly where I had put it. I was always losing my brushes. Then it hit me. "Oh! I remember. It's in my bag. The black one."

"Gotcha. I'll be right back." Laxus nodded and hurried out of the room, leaving me completely alone.

He only took a moment to find it, probably because he cheated and used my scent to find my bag. When he came back, brush in hand, I was already nodding off again. The exhaustion of living through such a horrific injury was really catching up to me, I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Hey, sleepyhead, I found it." Laxus crawled back onto the bed and lifted me up, carefully maneuvering my body so I was lying on my stomach across his lap. "Don't go falling asleep on me just yet. I'm not done talking to you." he said, as he started brushing out my waist-length green hair.

"Mmf. 'M tired." I mumbled, drowsily.

"You can sleep in a minute, I wanna talk about what happened out there." Laxus brushed his fingers across the bandage wrapped around my torso, concealing the hole in my stomach with his free hand. "So how exactly did this happen?"

"Some dark guild idiot got me with a dagger while I was creating a rune spell." I explained. "The blade was curved, so when he yanked it out of me, it ripped an even bigger hole in my skin. Ouch." I winced at the memory of blood spurting from the wound, of white-hot pain shooting through my entire body.

"Jesus Christ... What kind of spell was it? You're usually very alert, even when you're doing your enchantments. I'm not sure how anyone could've snuck up on you like that." Laxus questioned.

"Well, you see..." I shivered slightly before continuing. "I-I was setting up an enchantment to protect you. I saw you fighting, and I was so afraid of losing you that I guess I was so focused on keeping you safe I didn't see the dark guild member until he was stabbing me."

"Oh." Laxus immediately slapped his hand to his face, as if shocked. "Tch. Should've seen that one coming. Silly, silly Freed."

"I nearly died keeping your stupid ass safe and suddenly _I'm_ the silly one?" I twisted so I could give him a wide-eyed stare of indignance.

"Yeah. Because I don't need your protection, but it's adorable that you think I do." the thunder dragon slayer chuckled softly, much to my chagrin. "That's what makes you so irresistibly cute, you know."

"Hmph." I plunked my head down on his leg and proceeded to make a huge show of ignoring him.

He whistled a cheerful tune as he ran the brush through my hair until the jade locks were shining with perfection, tangle-free. Just how I liked to keep them. The only time my hair was a mess would be after showers, and after battles like this.

Laxus didn't seem to have anything else he wanted to ask me, so I nuzzled my face into his warm thigh and allowed myself to fall asleep like that, nestled safely in his arms. As I drifted back into the darkness of unconsciousness, I could hear his familiar voice whispering, "I love you, Freed Justine, even though you're an idiot sometimes..."

_I love you too, even though you're a pain in the ass._ My lips twitched upward in something of a smile as I fell asleep.

**-**

**A/N: if you couldn't tell, I used some of my ideas from my multi-chap Fraxus fic, "Soulmate". Such as Freed's past, which nobody is sure of, so I made one myself. (Can I just say that finding the perfect cover image for this fic was difficult as hell but I found one that fits perfectly so yay lol) But yeah I'm really proud of how this fic came out. Please leave a review sometime! It'll only have one chapter but heyy I think I ended it pretty well so don't harass me about it XD. More Gratsu, Fraxus and Jerza fics coming soon, I look forward to seeing you again on my other works! Byeee!**

**_-UltimatexAdmin_**


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